The only thing is, hardly anyone gives much real thought to the basic ingredient of selling by mail – the writing of profitable classified ads.  If your mail order business is to succeed, then you must acquire the expertise of writing classified ads that sell your product or services!

So what makes a classified ad good or bad?  First of all, it must appeal to the reader, and as such, it must say exactly what you want it to say.  Secondly, it has to say what it says in the least possible number of words in order to keep your operating costs within your budget.  And thirdly, it has to produce the desired results whether inquiries or sales.

Grabbing the reader’s attention is your first objective.  You must assume the reader is “scanning” the page on which your ad appears in the company of two or three hundred classified ads.  Therefore, there has to be something about your ad that causes him to stop scanning and look at yours!  So, the first two or three words of your ad are of the utmost importance and deserve your careful consideration.  Most surveys show that words or phrases that quickly involve the reader, tend to be the best attention-grabbers.  Such words as:  FREE…  WIN…  MAKE BIG MONEY…

Whatever words you use as attention-grabbers, to start your ads, you should bear in mind that they’ll be competing with similar attention-grabbers of the other ads on the same page.  Therefore, in addition to your lead words, your ad must quickly go on to promise or state further benefits to the reader.  In other words, your ad might read something like this:  MAKE BIG MONEY!  Easy & Simple.  We show you how!

In the language of professional copywriters, you’ve grabbed the attention of your prospect, and interested him with something that even he can do.

The next rule of good classified copywriting has to do with the arousal of the reader’s desire to get in on your offer.  In a great many instances, this rule is by-passed, and it appears, this is the real reason that an ad doesn’t pull according to the expectations of the advertiser.

Think about it – you’ve got your reader’s attention; you’ve told him it’s easy and simple; and you’re about to ask him to do something.  Unless you take the time to further “want your offer,” your ad is going to only half turn him on.  He’ll compare your ad with the others that have grabbed his attention and finally decide upon the one that interests him the most.

What is being said is that here is the place for you to insert that magic word “guaranteed” or some other such word or phrase.  So now, we’ve got an ad that reads:  MAKE BIG MONEY!  Easy & Simple.  Guaranteed!

Now the reader is turned on, and in his mind, he can’t lose.  You’re ready to ask for his money.  This is the “demand for action” part of your ad.  This is the part where you want to use such words as:  Limited offer – Act now! Write today!  Only and/or just…

Putting it all together, then your ad might read something like this:  MAKE BIG MONEY!  Easy & Simple.  Guaranteed!  Limited offer.  Send $l to:

These are the ingredients of any good classified ad – Attention – Interest – Desire – Action…  Without these four ingredients skillfully integrated into your ad, chances are your ad will just “lie there” and not do anything but cost you money.  What we’ve just shown you is a basic classified ad.  Although such an ad could be placed in any leading publication and would pull a good response, it’s known as a “blind ad” and would pull inquiries and responses from a whole spectrum of people reading the publication in which it appeared.  In other words, from as many “time-wasters” as from bona fide buyers.

So let’s try to give you an example of the kind of classified ad you might want to use, say to sell a report such as this one…  Using all the rules of basic advertising copywriting, and stating exactly what our product is, our ad reads thusly:

MONEY-MAKER’S SECRETS!  How To Write winning classified ads.  Simple & easy to learn -should double or triple your

responses.

The point we’re making is that:  l) You’ve got to grab the reader’s attention…  2) You’ve got to “interest him” with something that appeals to him…  3) You’ve got to “further stimulate” him with something (catch-phrase) that makes him “desire” the product or service.  4) Demand that he act immediately…

There’s no point in being tricky or clever.  Just adhere to the basics and your profits will increase accordingly.  One of the best ways of learning to write good classified ads is to study the classifieds – try to figure out exactly what they’re attempting to sell – and then practice rewriting them according to the rules we’ve just given you.  Whenever you sit down to write a classified, always write it all out – write down everything you want to say – and then go back over it, crossing out words, and refining your phraseology.

The final ingredient of your classified ad is of course, your name, address to which the reader is to respond – where he’s to send his money or write for further information.

Generally speaking, readers respond more often to ads that include a name than to those showing just initials or an address only.  However, because advertising costs are based upon the number of words, or the amount of space your ad uses, the use of some names in classified ads could become quite expensive.  If we were to ask our ad respondents to write to or send their money to The Research Writers & Publishers Association, or to Book Business Mart, or even to Money Maker’s Opportunity Digest, our advertising costs would be prohibitive.  Thus we shorten our name Researchers or Money-Makers.  The point here is to think relative to the placement costs of your ad, and to shorten excessively long names.

The same holds true when listing your post office box number.  Shorten it to just plain Box 40.  The important thing is to know the rules of profitable classified ad writing, and to follow them.  Hold your costs in line.

Now you know the basics… the rest is up to you.

Winning Classified Ads For Small Businesses is a post from: Start-up

Your efforts are wasted if you are unable to define your target market.  It is crucial to driving sales and  once you know who your market is the other marketing activities fall into place. Your target market or niche market consists of customers who are happy to buy products that that you market because your value proposition satisfies their needs at a reasonable price.

Small business owners you shouldn’t fear competition from larger  corporates as they market  products and services across a considering a wider market  spectrum. As a SME you are able to identify and target profitable niche markets that fall under the radar of the larger corporate firms.

Understanding  your target market and their needs requires in depth market knowledge , which you are able to obtain from market research as well as  from being a player in the market.  Knowing your target market can be a key competitive factor and enables you to market products more effectively than competitors who are operating blindly.

Utilising this knowledge enables you to segment your target market more effectively. Market segmentation needs to be conducted in a manner that is consistent with your overall marketing objectives and marketing plan. You can segment your market according to age , gender , firm size , region  LSM groupings etc.

Once you have identified your target market and segmented the market you will be able to develop a value proposition that you can successfully present to your target market and generate sales. You should also develop knowledge of competitors and how their products and services meets the kneeds of your target market. It is important to not knock your competitors value proposition as this likely backfire on you. Instead focus on you value proposition and how it satisfies the needs of your target market.

The advent of the internet has made it easier to target niche markets that weren’t previously available to marketers. Using search engines and pay per click advertising marketers are able to target specific search phrases and buying keywords. Online marketing is lucrative channel to exploit , but requires extensive knowledge so you should consider using the services of a reputable online marketer.

Once you have identified your target market and know who you customers are , you are able to develop  marketing channels like direct marketing , online marketing or retail outlets to service those markets and generate profitable sales for your business.

This is an ongoing process and requires constant attention , the demographics of your target market are constantly changing and you need  to adapt your marketing efforts to change with the market. This requires constant effort and you obtain market information by attanding relevant trade shows , marketing conference and seminars , reading industry related journal and most importantly by talking to your customers.

Who Is Your Target Market? is a post from: Start-up